English Translations of Cubans Writing From the Island
Freedom for Danilo Open Letter to the Pope Havana, September 8, 2015 Your Holiness, Pope Francis: In advance of your visit to our island, a group of Cuban citizens wish to call your attention to a case that needs an immediate solution. This is the politically motivated imprisonment of Danilo Maldonado Machado, a young artist … Continue reading “Open Letter to Pope Francis for the Release of “El Sexto””
Hablemos* Press: Who We Are Hablemos Press Information Center (CIHPRESS) is a Cuban non-governmental, non-profit agency, founded on 3 February 2009, by independent journalists and human rights activists, for the purpose of collecting and disseminating news inside the country, and for the rest of the world. Our headquarters are located at No. 394 Santa Marta … Continue reading “Hablemos Press”
The repression against the Ladies in White, opposition activists and human rights defenders in Cuba, that we have seen during the last couple of weeks is alarming. The increase of violence from the authorities has come as a result from the exercise of the right to public protests and from the public exposure of the … Continue reading “Alarming Repression Against the Ladies in White in Cuba / Forum for Rights and Freedoms”
14ymedio, Reinaldo Escobar, 23 January 2015 – The possibility that some day the dispute between Cuba and the United States would ever be solved, the discussion about how to accomplish it having been successively postponed, seemed so remote. If we were to identify in a simple form the background of the disagreement between both contenders, … Continue reading “The New Scenario / 14ymedio, Reinaldo Escobar”
14ymedio, Reinaldo Escobar, Havana, 10 December 2014* — Coinciding with the observance of International Human Rights Day today, we spoke with Elizardo Sánchez, spokesman for the Cuban Commission for Human Rights and National Reconciliation (CCDHRN) in Havana to review the current situation on the Island. Q: Today the whole world commemorates Human Rights Day. What is the situation in … Continue reading “Cuba is the Black Sheep of Human Rights / 14ymedio, Reinaldo Escobar & Elizardo Sanchez”
They are difficult to count, not to mention uncountable, the projects carried out in order to find alternative solutions to Cuba’s problems. When I say “alternatives” I’m obviously referring to a broad set of programs, documents, statements not coming from governmental institutions, but from that disjointed amalgamation of opposition parties and civil society entities, both within … Continue reading “Four Cardinal Points / Reinaldo Escobar”
Lifting or easing the embargo will strengthen the Castros’ power. No economic benefit justifies the absence of democracy. Lifting the embargo would allow the Cuban government to apply for credit at US banks, and would make it legal for US citizens to visit Cuba as tourists. HAVANA, Cuba- In the last week, various opinions have circulating … Continue reading “The Embargo and Absolute Power / Miriam Celaya”
REFORMS IN CUBA! The Cuban government SAYS NO to the United Nations to: Freedom of Expression Free Access to the Internet Freedom of action for independent journalists, defenders of human rights, and political opponents. Independent investigation of the deaths of Oswaldo Payá and Harold Cepero Legal guarantees for defenders of human rights. Release of all … Continue reading “Reforms in Cuba / Rolando Pulido”
Cuban prosecutors have requested long prison sentences for Lady in White Sonia Garro Alfonso, her husband the activist Ramón Alejandro Muñoz González and the also dissident Eugenio Hernández Hernández, according to the independent Center for Information Hablemos Press. According to statements by Muñoz González from Havana’s prison Combinado del Este where he is being held, … Continue reading “The Prosecution Requests Long Sentences for Sonia Garro, her husband Ramon Alejandro Munoz, and Eugenio Hernández / Diario de Cuba”
Dr. Elias Carranza, Director of the United Nations Latin American Institute for the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders, shocked us when he said that Cuba is the safest country in the region, during his Keynote Address at the Sixth International Meeting on Justice and Law held at the end of May in … Continue reading “Justice / Rafael León Rodríguez”
I wanted to say hello to Jose Daniel Ferrer of the Patriotic Union of Cuba (UNPACU), the next time he was in Havana. On Monday I learned that police had kidnapped him while he walked down a street of the capital, and sent him by force to Santiago de Cuba. How frightened they are of … Continue reading “Serene Among the Vile / Lilianne Ruíz”
“Meñique Went out to Travel” — that’s the name of a famous children’s song. Those same travels were awarded to me by the combined forces of State Security (G-2) and the National Revolutionary Police (PNR) on April 28th. At 7:39 AM, Lieutenant Yasmani Suarez Ramirez showed up at my house along with FOUR other police … Continue reading “Meñique Went out to Travel / Luis Felipe Rojas”
The coming of Benedict XVI to Cuba put the country on the move, the repression by the political police towards dissidents, opponents or defenders of human rights was incredible. Those three days were the darkest and most inhumane; detentions beginning days before the arrival of the Pope in Havana surprised many. Preparations for the Mass … Continue reading “What Pope Benedict XVI Left Us / Anddy Sierra Alvarez”
I understand that Western countries, where the government emerges from a multi-party democracy, must have their problems. Here the scriptwriters of any news report broadcast are very pleased when they comment on (because they almost never let you hear the voices of the international reporters) the news about the protests of the Outraged, Spanish students, … Continue reading “To the Outraged / Lilianne Ruíz”
The issue of Gitmo, as the Detention Center created ten years ago by the U.S. Naval Base in Guantanamo, Cuba is known, is controversial, both at home and elsewhere. Its defenders and detractors have faced off in a war of words for quite some time. For some, the detainees there are dangerous terrorists and murderers … Continue reading “Gitmo’s Birthday / Fernando Dámaso”